Apparatus for forming wire hoops.



B. I. BRADDOGK. APPARATUS FOR FORMING WIRE HOOPS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 22, 1912. 1,081,359.

Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

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B. I. BRADDOGK.

APPARATUS FOR FORMING WIRE HOOPS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 22, 1912.

1,081,359, Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

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M/x'bfvesses: 17170577507", WW MwM/AL COLUHIIA PLMUGIAPN C(L, WASHINGTON. D. I!

E. I. BRADDOGK.

APPARATUS FOR FORMING WIRE HOOPS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 22, 1912.

1,081,359 Patented Dec. 16, 1913 119 6 SHEETSSHEBT 3.

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E. I. BRADDOGK. APPARATUS FOR FORMING WIRE HOOPS. APPLICATION FILED JULY 22, 1912.

1,081,359. Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4. ffi'g. .5, 6

COLUMl-HA PLANDGIIMH CUWWASHWGTON. n. c.

E. I. BRADDOGK.

APPARATUS FOR FORMING WIRE HOOPS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 22, 1912.

1,081,359, Patented Dec.16, 1913.

6 SHEETS-"SHEET 5.

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E. I. BRADDOGK.

APPARATUS FOR FORMING WIRE HOOPS.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 22, 1912.

1,081,359, Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD I. BRADDOCK, F WINCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO HENRY W. LAMB, OF BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS.

APPARATUS FOR FORMING HOOPES.

Application filed July 22, 1912.

To aid whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDVVARI) l'. Pnmnoocn, a citizen of the United States, residing in iVinchester, county of Middlesex, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Apparatus for Forming \Vire Hoops, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the (ilrawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to apparatus for forming wire hoops, and more particularly hoops in which the convolutions of the hoops are metallically united at a plurality of points between adjacent convolutions. To this end, the wire to be formed into the form of a hoop is fiuxed and led througl'i a bath of coating metal, such as solder, and is then attached to a former carried by a rotatable support, which in its rotation winds the coated wire upon the former and forms thereon a series of connected wire hoops. As the coated wire wound on the former, it is pressed or maintained in contact with the convolution previously formed, so that, the coatings of adjacent convolu tions molecularly unite and bond together the eonvolutions of the wire hoop. The former may and preferably will be contractible and the bath of coating metal is fed longitudinally of the former, so that the coated wire as it issues from the bath may be properly laid on the former. The apparatus may and preferably will be provided with a cutting mechanism for severing the connected hoops into individual hoops. These and other features of this invention will be pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

Figure 1 is an end elevation of one form of apparatus with which the hoops may be formed. Fig. :2, a side ele *ation ()T' the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 looking toward the left. Fig. 3, a vertical section on the line Fig. 4, a detail. on an enlarged scale of the drum and former. Fig. 5, an enlarged detail in developed form of the former with the wire wound thereon. Fig. 6, a section on line 6 45, Fig. 5. Fig. 7, a section on line 7-7, Fig. 5. Fig. 7, a detail of the anvil. l? 8, a modification of the former. Fig. 9, a diagram to illustrate the passage of the wire through the coating Specification of Letters Patent.

"Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

Serial No. 710,766.

wire and the mechanism for turning the guide. Fig. 11, a detail in section of the guide. Fig. 12, a detail of the feed clutch.

Fig. 13, a detail oi the wire with the wiper thereon, and Figs. 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18, details of the cutting mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents a wire, preferably oi iron or steel, which is to be wound into the term oi a hoop comprising a plurality of convolutions, which are metallically united between adjacent convolutions. In the present instance the wire 1 is shown in Fig. 1 as taken from a coil 2 mounted upon a rotatable reel 3, and said coil is provided with a coating of flux and then heated, before it is placed upon the reel 3. The fluxed wire 1 is then led through a bath of softer metal such as solder 4, with which the wire is coated and which is contained in a pot 5 located in vessel or receptacle 6; and suitably heated to keep the solder in molten condition.

The pot 5 may be heated as herein shown, by gas flames supplied by torches 7, see Figs. 1 and 2, which are arranged to direct the flames through openings 8 in the opposite sides of the vessel 6 and against the sides of the pot Provision is made for guiding the wire under tension through the bath of molten metal 41:, and in the present instance this result is accomplished by a roller 9 and grooved wheel 10, suitably supported above the pot 5. and pulleys or drums 12, 13 located within the pot 5 near the bottom thereof, and a hollow guide 14, see Figs. 3 and 11, which is provided with a removable bushing or sleeve 15, having at its inner end a conical mouth in which is located a coil 16 of wire, through which the coated wire 1 is passed and by means of which the surplus coating metal is wiped oil? of the wire 1. The hollow guiding arm 14 forms part of a crank or arm 17 pro vided with a hub 18, which is secured by the screw 19 to a shaft 20, mounted in a substantially U-shaped frame 21, see Fig. 10, which is pivoted at 22 for a purpose as will be described. The coated Wire 1 after passing through the hollow guide 14: is wound upon a drum as will now be described.

The drum referred to may and preferably will be made as herein shown, see Figs. 3

bath. Fig. 10, a detail in plan of the bath and 4, and comprises end sections 23, 24, see containing kettle and guide for the coated Fig. 4:, and a pluralitv of intermediate sections 25, which are provided on their peripheries with a plurality of slots 26 extended longitudinally of the drum, with the slots of one section in line with the slots of the other sections. Each slot 26 is provided with an inclined bottom surface 27, with which cooperates an inclined projection or cam 28 on a air 29, which will be hereinafter designated a cam bar, to which is emovably secured as by screws or otherwise a second bar 30, preferably of aluminum which is provided on its surface with a plurality of sets or groups of grooves, notches or recesses 31, see Figs. 5 and 7. Each set of grooves is provided with a plurality of parallel grooves, one for each convolution of the wire hoop, and the grooves of each set may be arranged on an incline so as to impart a taper to the hoop, when it is desired to produce a tapered hoop, and adjacent sets of grooves are oppositely arranged as shown in Fig. 7.

The bars 30 are provided between the sets of grooves with pins or projections 32, 33, see Fig. 5, for a purpose as will be described. The cam bars 29 are provided with inclined ends 34, 35, see Fig. 4, the end 34 being extended downwardly and adapted to enter a socket 36 in the end disk 23, and the end 35 being extended upwardly and through a hole in the other end disk 24, which is secured to the end disk 23 by bolts or rods 37.

The grooved bars 30 arranged about the drum in substantially close proximity to one another constitute a former upon which the wire is wound to form the hoops, and said former is capable of being contracted to render the hoops loose thereon, so that they may be readily removed therefrom. The expansion and contraction of the sectional former may be effected as herein shown, and for this purpose, each cam bar 29 is provided on its inner side with a finger 38, see Fig. 4, which enters an annular groove 39 in a disk or wheel 40 adjustably secured on a shaft or rod 41. In the present instance, the disk or wheel 40 is rendered fast on the shaft 41 by nuts 42, 43, which engage a screw threaded portion 44 of the shaft 41, see Fig. 4. The shaft 41 is capable of being moved longitudinally and for this purpose is provided at one end with a hand wheel 45, see Figs. 1, 2 and 12, which is provided with a hub 46 and with a nut 47 secured to the hub as by pins 48, said nut being in engagement with the threaded outer end of the shaft, so that, when the handwheel 45 is turned in one direction, the shaft 41 is moved longitudinally in one direction to efiect movement of the cam bars 29 in one direction as, for instance, to expand the sectional former, and when the hand wheel 45 is rotated in the opposite direction, the shaft 41 is moved longitudinally in the opposite direction to contract the sectional former.

The cam bars 29 and their cooperating inclined walls 27 may be made of such length and size as to enable hoops of different diameters to be wound on the sectional former. Vi hen the sectional former has been expanded to the proper size to form hoops of a given diameter or size, the drum is rotated in the proper direction to carry the *ire about it and lay the same in succession in the grooves 31 of the different sets of grooves.

The rotation of the drum to wind the wire thereon may be effected by mechanism as will now be described. The end disk 23 of the drum is fast on a shaft 50, which is shown of different diameters and is supported by uprights 51, 53, forming part of the framework of the machine. The shaft 50 has fast on it a gear 54, which meshes with and is driven by a pinion on a shaft 56, see Fig. 1, constituting the driving shaft of themachine, and provided with a pulley 57 which is driven by a belt 58 from a counter shaft (not shown) but which is provided with the usual clutch or shipper common to factories and machine shops.

The wire 1 coated with solder or like coating metal, may be connected with the drum by a metal strip or piece 59, having at one end an eye through which the end of the wire 1 is passed and bent back on itself, and having at its other end a hole or eye through which a pin 60 on one of the former bars is passed, see Fig. 3. As the coated wire is being wound on the former, it is fed or moved lengthwise of the drum, which is effected by a suitable feed mechanism, one construction of which is herein shown, and consists of a movable carriage 61, which is mounted to slide on suitable guideways or supports 62, see Figs. 2 and 3, and is in threaded engagement with a screw shaft (33, which is capable of being fed forward, namely, toward the right in Fig. 2 at the proper speed to lay the wire in the grooves 31 and to be returned at a much faster speed.

The forward movement or feed of the car riage (31 may be effected by mechanism as will now be described. To this end the drum shaft 50 has loose on it a pinion 65 in mesh with a large gear 66, which meshes with a gear 67 loose on the feed shaft 63, but adapt ed to be rendered fast thereon by a clutch member 68, which is keyed to said shaft to slide thereon and is connected by an arm (59 to a rod 70 which is connected with a lever 71. The pinion 65 is adapted to be rendered fast on the shaft 50 by a clutch, herein shown as a finger or projection 72 on a collar 7 3, see Fig. 12, fast on the shaft 50, said finger cooperating with a movable finger 74, which is located in a depression or recess 7 5 in the hub 76 of the pinion 65 and is pivoted therein. The fingers 72, 74 are provided with straight sides and with curved sides, the straight sides engaging when the shaft 50 is rotated in the direction of the arrow 78, Fig. l, and. the curved sides engaging when the shaft 50 is rotated in the opposite direction. The recess 75 is provided with a straight wall against: which the finger 74: is forced when the straight sides of the lingers '72, 74 are in engagement and the shaft 50 is rotating in the directimi of the arrow 78, and as a result the pinion 65 is clutched to the shaft 50. When how ever the shaft 50 is rotated. in the reverse direction, the finger 72 clicks by the linger 7d and the pinion (35 remains stationary. The finger T l is forced toward the inclined wall of the recess 75 by the finger 72, and when the latter has passed out of engagement with the finger 74, the latter is restored to its normal position in which it projects into the path of the finger 72, by a. spring 81..

Referring again to Fig. 2, it will be seen, that when the lever 71 is moved in the direction of the arrow 82, the clutch member (38 is engaged with a cooperating clutch member 83 fast to the gear 67, and the latter is thus clutched to the feed shaft, which is driven from the main shaft by the gears 65, 66, 67, and feeds the carriage 61 and the solder pot supported thereby in a forward direction indicated by the arrow 84. The return movement of the carriage 01 may be effected at a faster speed by mechanism, which consists of a pulley 86, normally loose on the screw shaft 03 and connected by a belt 87 to a pulley 88 fast on a shaft 89 pro itled with a second pulley 90, which. is connected by a belt 91 with a driving shaft (not shown). The pulley 80 is provided with a clutch member 92 with which 00- operates a clutch member 93, attached to or forming part of the clutch member 68 and actuated by the arm 69, to engage the clutch members 93, 92 and render the pulley 80 fast on the screw shaft 63, when the lever 71 is moved in the reverse direction, opposite to that indicated by the arrow 82, Fig. 2. The

arrangement of belts and pulleys is such, that the screw shaft 68 is revolved in the opposite direction to that in which it is revolved by the gears 65, 66, 07. The feed of the carriage for the wire is timed with relation to the rotation of the drum and the former carried thereby, so as to lay the wire in the grooves 31 of each set of grooves, and after the wire is laid in one set of grooves, it is carried forward over the space between adjacent sets of grooves and laid in the first groove of the next adjacent set of grooves. To insure proper laying of the wire in each set of grooves, the grooved bars of the former are provided with pins 32, 33, which are diagonally arranged near the opposite sides of each bar as represented in Fig. 5, so that as the wire leaves one set of grooves, it engages the pin 33 on one of the bars 30 adjacent the endmost groove and is engaged with the pin 32 on the next adjacent bar,

as will be described. This cross over or advance of the wire from the last groove of one set to the first roove of the next ad jacent set, is accompdished as herein shown by mechanism as will now be described. To this end. the frame 21 which carries the guide 14 for the wire, see Fig. 10, is pivoted at 22, so that the said guide may be swung to the left, viewing Fig. 10, by means of a lever 100, see Fig. 3, which is pivoted to the carriage 61 and is slotted or forked at its upper end. to engage the end of an arm 101 on the guide carrying frame 21. The lever 100 at its lower end, is connected with a bar 102, see Fig. 3, which rests on an upright 0r bracket 10% attached to the carriage (51 and slides thereon.

The bar 102 i guided by a pin 10: on the bracket 10?), which pin is extended up into a slot 105 in the bar, and the latter is moved in one direction by a toothed bar 106, see Fig. 10, fastened to the frame of the machine, and with which cotiperates a pin 107 on the said bar. The pin 107 is held in engagement with a tooth of the bar 100 by a spring 108, see Fig. 10, which serves also to return the guide 1ft: to its normal or central position shown in Fig. 10. As the carriage 61 is fed forward in the direction of the arrow Set, Figs. 2 and 10, the pin 107 travels up the inclined surface of a tooth on the bar 106, and the slotted bar 102 is moved in the direction of its length and turns the lever 100, so that its upper end is moved toward the toothed bar or in the direction of the arrow 100. Figs. 3 and 10. This movement of the lever 100 turns the guide frame 21 on its pivot toward the left viewing Fig. 10, and thereby keeps the wire as it is being laid in its groove 31 in contact with the convolution in the preceding groove, under a pressure sufficient to insure the coatings of the contiguous convolutions being admixed or welded together, and when the pin 10'? drops off of the highest point of one tooth into engagement with the lowest point of the nexttooth, the bar 102 is moved sub stantially in an instant by the spring 108 toward the toothed bar 106, thereby turning he lever 100 so as to swing the guide back into its normal position shown in Fig. .10, which movement of the guide carries the wire from one set of grooves over to the next set and into line with the first groove thereof, into which it is laid by the revolution of the drum, and is retained in the first groove by the pin 32 against which it is held by the tension on the wire. This operation is repeated until the wire has been laid in all or any desired number of the sets of grooves on the form-er. In the present case, it will be assumed that the wire is laid in all the sets of grooves. In this case, the operator throws out the forward feed clutch 68, when the wire has been laid in the last set of grooves, and can leave the lever 71 in its central position while the series of connected hoops are severed and separated into individual hoops, as will he described, or the lever 71 may be moved to throw in the reverse clutch 93, so as to return the carriage into its starting position, after which the cutting operation is effected.

It is preferred to contract somewhat the grooved former upon which the wire is wound to form the series of connected hoops, before the cutting action takes place. The contraction is effected by turning the hand wheel 45 so as to move the rod or shaft 41 in the direction of the arrow 110, Figs. 2, 4 and 12, and thereby, through the grooved wheel 40, move the cam bars 29 in the same direction and cause their cam projections 28 to be moved down the inclined bottom walls of the slots 26 in the drum sections 25.

After the grooved former has been contracted sufficiently to relieve the tension on the connected wire hoops, the latter may be severed from one another by a cutting mechanism, one construction of which is herein shown. The cutting mechanism referred to consists as herein shown of a cutter or knife 112 attached to a carrier or bar 113, which is vertically reciprocated in a guide block 114 attached to a movable carriage 115, which is mounted to slide on a support herein shown as a cross bar 116, see Fig. 2, provided at its ends with arms 117, which rest upon blocks 11S supported above the former by the uprights 51, 52 forming part of the frameworz. The arms 117 are held down on the blocks 118 as shown by screws 119, see Fig. 1. During the cutting operation, the drum is rotated in the reverse direction by mechanism under the control of the operator. The drum reversing mechanism herein shown, consists of a worm 120, see Fig. 1, on a shaft 121, journaled in the ends of a movable hanger or lever 122, which is forked at one end and mounted to turn on the shaft 89, see Fig. 2, and has its other end joined by a link 123 to one end of a lever 124, which has its pivot 125 supported in uprights 1 6 attached to the standard 53 of the framework. The lever 124 is connected at its other end by a link or rod 127 to a crank 123 on a rock shaft 129, see Fig. 2, which is located near the base of the framework and suitably supported thereby and is provided with a crank or handle 130, see Fig. 2, by turning which the shaft 129 may be rocked in one direction, so as to turn the lever 124 and lower the'worm 120 into engagement with a worm gear 131 fast on the drum shaft 50.

The worm shaft 121 is provided at its end supported by the forked end of the lever 122, with a bevel pinion 132, see Fig. 2, which meshes with a bevel pinion 133 on the shaft 89, and effects rotation of the drum in the opposite direction from that in which it is turned when the wire is wound thereon. Vhile the drum is being rotated in the reverse direction, the carriage 115 carrying the cutter 112 is moved step by step, so as to position the said cutter over the straight or diagonal portion 134 of the wire which connects two adjacent hoops, see Fig. 5, and under this port-ion of wire lies a. stationary cutting member or anvil, with which the mo "able cutting member or knife 112 cooperates. When the carriage 115 has been moved to thus properly position the knife, its movement or feed is stopped and the carriage remains at rest while the cutter is operated to sever the straight or connecting portion 134 of the wire. The stationary cutting member or anvil is shown in Fig. 5 as a block of metal 135, which is softer than the cutter 112 and is pivoted by a screw 136 to each of the grooved bars 30. 'The anvil 135 has its free end extended under the straight portion 134 of the wire and is provided on its under surface with an inclined portion 235, see Figs. 7 and 7 which cooperates with an inclined upper surface 236 on a bar 237 fastened to the drum as by screws 238. The free end of the anvil is normally depressed by a spring rod 240, attached at one end to the anvil and having its other end extended under a pin 241 projecting from the grooved bar 30.

When the former is contracted the inclined under surface 235 of the anvil rests on the inclined surface 236 of the bar 237, and when the cam bar 29 is moved longitudinally to expand the former, the inclined surface 235 is moved up off of the inclined surface 236 and on to the fiat upper surface thereof, thereby elevating the free end of the anvil into its operative position to contact with the straight portion 134 of the wire and support the latter while it is being cut. backward so as to partially contract the former, the under side of the anvil remains on the straight upper portion of the bar 237, and is removed therefrom when the former is contracted into its starting position in order to remove the hoops.

The cutter carriage 115 is fed intermittently as will now be described. Below the carriage 115 and between the ways 138 upon which it moves, is located a ratchet bar 139, see Figs. 2, 14 and 15, which is secured to the carriage support 116. The ratchet bar 139 has cooperating with it a pawl 140, which is pivoted to the lower end of a crank or arm 141, attached to a disk 142 on a shaft 143, supported by the carriage 115 and provided with a pinion 144, which meshes with a pinion 145 fast on a shaft 146 also supported by the carriage. The shaft 146 acts as a driver for the shaft 143, and rotation of the latter raises and lowers the When the cam bars are movedcrank 141 and its attached pawl 140, which is engaged with the stationary ratchet bar 139. crank 141 lowered or moved toward the ratchet bar 139, the pawl 140 is fixed at one end by its engagement with a tooth of the ratchet bar, and is lowered at its end attached to the crank 141 and effects a thrust upon the said crank, which thrust is trans mitted to the carriage, and the latter is moved in the direction of the arrow 148, Fig. 2, at each revolution of the crank shaft 143 and of its driving shaft 146. On the upward movement of the crank 141, the pawl is lifted at one end and its other end is moved into engagement with another tooth of the ratchet bar 139. During this upward movement of the crank or pawl carrying arm 141, the carriage is at rest with the cutter or knife 112 above the anvil, and while the carriage is at rest, the knife 112 is operated to cut the straight portion 134 connecting two hoops, which operation is effected by a cam 150 on the driving shaft 146, see 14. The cam 150 is set opposite to the crank pin 151 on. the disk 142, and acts on the long arm of a lever 152, pivotally supported by the carriage 115 and having its short arm joined by a link 153 to the block 113 to which the knife 112 is attached. The lever 152 is held in engagement with the cam 150 by a spring 154, which also acts to lift the knife after it has done its work. The shaft 146 is intern1it tently rotated, which is effected as herein shown by a grooved pulley 156, loose on the shaft 146 and connected by a belt 157 with a drum 158, which is supported by brackets or arms 159 attached to the carriage 115 and is continuously driven by a belt 160, see Fig. 1, passed about a pulley 161 on the shaft of said drum. The continuously driven pulley 156, which is loose on the shaft 146, is adapted to be rendered fast thereon by a clutch mechanism, one form of which is herein shown, see Figs. 17 and 18, and consists of a member fast to the pulley and a cooperating movable member carried by the shaft 146. The member attached to the pulley 156 is shown as a ring 162, provided with internal teeth 163, one for each connecting portion 134 of wire to be cut, and the movable member is shown as a pawl or dog 164, which is pivoted at 165 to collar or hub 166 fast on the shaft 146 as by the key 167, see Fig. 18, said pawl. being acted. upon by a spring 168, which acts to throw the free end of the pawl 164 out into engagement with a tooth 163 of the fixed member, and thus couple or clutch the pulley 156 to the shaft 146, so that the latter is rotated by the said pulley. The pawl 164 is normally held disengaged from the fixed member 162 by a spring 170, herein represented as a metal strip attached to the carriage 115 and It will thus be seen, that when the having its free end in ei'igagen'lent with the free end of the pawl.

The engagement of the pawl 164 with a tooth of the fixed member 162 of the clutch is controlled from the drum, which has fast on it a toothed ring or ratchet wheel 172 with which coiiperates a pawl 172, see Figs. 2 and 16, n'iounted on a pivot 273, supported by a bracket or arm 174 attached to the support 116 for the cutter carriage, said pawl being joined by an extensible link comprising a member 175 pivoted to the pawl and provided with a slot 176 for the reception of a part of the other member 177 which is clamped to the member 175 by the screw 1.78. The member 177 is pivoted to a crank 180 on a shaft 181, journaled in the side arms 117 of the support for the carriage 115, and having its intermediate portion angular in cross section. The angular portion of the shaft 181. has fitted upon it to turn therewith and to slide thereon, a second crank 183, see Fig. 3, located between uprights 184 on the carriage, and having connected to it one end of a push rod 185, which is supported and guided by an upright 186 on the carriage, and has its free end in engagel'nent with the spring 170, so that when in the rotation of the drum and its attached toothed ring 172 in the direction of the arrow 187, Fig. 16, a tooth of the ring or wheel 172 passes from under the pawl 173, the latter is free to drop down on the next tooth, and thereby to rock the shaft 181 so as to move the push rod 185 against the spring 1.76 and move the latter away from the pawl 164, so that the latter can be moved by centrifugal force, assisted by the spring 168, into engagement with a tooth of the clutch member 162 fixed to the pulley 156, and thus couple the pulley to the shaft 146 and rotate the latter one revolution, during which the carriage 115 is fed and the knife 112 operated to cut the porlion 134 of the wire between two adjacent hoops. ()n the continued movement of the ring 172, the tooth on which the pawl 173 rests. is advanced, and the said pawl is raised so as to rock the shaft 181 in the opposite direction and return the push rod 85 to its normal position, which allows the spring 17 0 to disengage the clutch pawl 164 f om the fixed member 162 of the clutch, and render carriage 115 stationary until the pawl 173 again drops off of the next teeth of the ring or wheel 172. While the coated wire 1 is being wound on the drum, the cutting mechanism may be rendered inoperative by the operator loosening the screw 178 and raising the pawl 173 out of the path of the toothed ring 172 and then turning upon the screw 178 to secure the pawl in this position, until it is again de sired to disconnect another series of connected hoops, one from the other. After the hoops have been severed one from the other, the former may be contracted still further by turning the hand wheel 45, so as to leave the hoops loose on the former and capable of being readily slipped off of the free end of the same and removed from the machine, by turning back the center point 190 which normally supports the free end of the drum. The grooved bar 30 may be made separate from the cam bar 29 as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, but it may be made integral therewith, and if desired two grooved bars may be made integral with each cam bar as represented in Fig. 8.

The mode of procedure in manufacturing hoops from wire, in which the convolutions of each hoop are metallically united between adjacent convolutions, may be briefly described as follows: The steel or other wire, preferably in the form of a coil, is first cleansed and fluXed and then heated by placing the same in a drying oven to dry the flux, and when dried, the coil is placed on the reel 3 and one end is led through the bath 4 of solder or other metal or composition of metals suitable for coating the wire and attached to the drum by the connecting piece 59. The hand wheel 45 is turned in the proper direction to move the cam bars 29 and expand the former to the diameter desired. The lever 71 is moved to engage the clutch member 68 with the clutch member 83. The bar 175 is adjusted to raise the pawl 173 out of contact with the ratchet wheel 172, to render the cutting mechanism inoperative, and the overhead shipper (not shown). is operated to set the belt 58 in motion, which revolves the drum and the former carried by it, in the proper direction to wind the wire coated with solder or other suitable metal upon the former as above described in detail. The coated wire is drawn from the bath of solder and while the latter is hot is laid in the grooves 31 of each set. with the coating of one convolution pressed against the coating of the next adjacent convolution, so that, when the coated wire has been laid in all the grooves of one set of grooves in the former, a wire hoop is formed of a plurality of convolutions with the adjacent convolutions metallically united to gether by the coatings of solder interposed between adjacent convolutions. As the drum and former are revolved, the wire and the bath of molten metal through which it is drawn are fed forward, and after the coated wire has been laid in the grooves of one set on the former, the wire is moved along into the plane or path of the first groove of the next set, and so on until all or-the desired number of the sets of grooves have had the wire laid in them. The hand wheel 45 is now turned so as to partially contract the former and thus relieve the wire hoops from strain or tension while cooling,

after which the rotation of the drum and the feed of the wire carriage is stopped, and the cutting mechanism is brought into position to be operated by the ratchet wheel or ring 172. The crank shaft 129 is then turned to engage the worm with the worm gear 131 and effect rotation of the drum and former in the reverse direction, during which the cut-ting mechanism operates to sever the connected hoops as above described. After the hoops have been severed, the hand wheel 45 is turned to still further contract the former so as to leave the hoops loose thereon and capable of being readily slipped over the end of the drum and former, the center spindle 190 being first disengaged from the drum. The wire feed carriage may be re-. turned to its starting position by moving the lever 71 so as to engage the clutch member 93 with the clutch finger 92. As the coated wire is wound upon the former and laid in the grooves of eachv set, it is pressed against the preceding convolution of wire and firmly united thereto by the interposed coatings of soft metal which are sufficiently heated or in a substantially plastic state to unite and metallically bond adjacent convolutions together, so that the wire hoop produced as above described has its convolutions not only enveloped by coatings of metal which protect it against corrosion, but also has its convolutions metallically united between. adjacent convolutions by the metal coatings of said convolutions. It is preferred to carry the wire a plurality of times about the pulleys. or drums 12, 13 in the bath of solder, as represented in Figs. 3 and 9, so that the wire. may be exposed to the bath a sufiicient length of time to insure its being properly coated and yet enable the coated wire to be wound upon the former at such speed as will prevent the metal coatings on a convolution and the wire becoming sufliciently cool. to prevent their union. I have herein shown; and described one construction of apparatus for producing the wire hoops but do not desire to limit myself to the particular construction of apparatus herein shown.

The method of forming wire hoops herein disclosed, is not herein claimed, as it is here-. by reserved for a separate application as a division of this application.

Claims:

1. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, an expansible and; contractible former provided with a plu-. rality of sets of circumferentially arranged; grooves, means for expanding and contracting, said former, a vessel for containing a bath of coating metal, a carriage upon which said vessel is supported, means for guiding a wire through the bath to said former, means for rotating said former, means forfeeding the carriage longitudinally of the. former as the latter is being rotated, and

means movable with the carriage for heat: ing the bath of coating metal, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, an expansible and contractible former provided with a plurality of sets of circumferentially arranged grooves, means for expanding and contracting said former, a vessel for containing a bath of coating metal, a carriage upon which said vessel is supported, means for guiding a wire through the bath to said former, means for rotating said former, means for feeding the carriage longitudinally of the former as the latter is rotated, means movable with the carriage for heating the bath of coating metal, and a cutting mechanism to cut the wire between adjacent sets of grooves.

3. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, an expansible and 'ontractible former upon which the wire is wound into the form of a hoop, a rotatable support for said former within the latter, means carried by said support for expanding the former, and means to rotate said support.

4. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, an expansible and contract-ible former upon which the wire is wound into the form of a hoop, a rotatable support for said former, means to rotate said support, a kettle for containing a bath of coating material, a carriage supporting said kettle, and means for feeding said car riage in the direction of the length of the former as the latter is rotated, substantially as described.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, an expansible and contractible former upon which the Wire is wound into the form of a hoop, a rotatable support for said former, means to rotate said support, a kettle for containing a bath of coating material, a carriage supporting said kettle and means for feeding said carriage in the direction of the length of the former as the latter is rotated, a guide for the wire movable with said kettle and imlependently thereof, and means for eiiecting said independent movement.

6. In an apparatus of the character described, a rotatable former upon which the wound into the form of a hoop, a hollow rotatable support for said former within the latter, means to rotate said support, and 111 3118 within said support for actuating said former.

S. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a rotatable drum composed of end and intermediate sections, said intermediate sections having longitudinally extended slots provided with in clined bottom walls, cam bars provided with cam projections extended into said slots, grooved bars attached to said cam bars, and means within said drum for eli'ecting bodily movement of said cam bars.

9. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a rotatable former upon which the wire is wound, a carriage movable lengthwise of the former as the latter is rotated, a feed shaft for said carriage, gearing for rotating said feed shaft, and a clutch to couple said gearing with said rotatable former, to effect the feed of the carriage when the former is rotated in one direction and to permit the former to be rotated in the reverse direction without operating said feed shaft, substantially as described.

10. in an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a rotatable former having a plurality of sets of grooves circumferentially arranged and spaced apart, means to rotate said former, and means to cause adjacent hoops to be connected by a straight portion of wire.

11. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a rotatable former having a plurality of sets of grooves circumferentially arranged and spaced apart, means to rotate said former, means to cause adjacent hoops to be connected by a straight portion of wire, and an anvil carried by the former and over which said straight portion of wire is laid, substantially as described.

12. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a rotatable former having a plurality of sets of grooves circumfercntially arranged and spaced apart, and a guide for the wire, one of said parts being movable with relation to the other to cause the wire to be laid in the grooves of said sets in succession.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my nine to this specification in the presence of two subsm-ibing witnesses.

EDWARD l. BRADDOCK.

Witnesses JAS. H. Cnuluniina, J. hinnrrir'.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patentl, Washington, D. G. 

